When they heard that Xu Lingyi had returned, Eleventh Lady and Zhen Jie'er hurried to greet him. After paying their respects, they took him to pay their respects to the Lady Dowager and greet her.
Before he could stand up, the lady said anxiously, "Why did you come back so late?" She then pointed to the opposite side and asked him to sit down.
"The emperor kept me here for a while, and someone from the clan office came to report back on the fifth prince's first sacrifice ceremony, so I stayed a little longer."
The funeral of the fifth prince was held for three days, mourning lasted for five days, and the eleventh day was the "first sacrifice".
The lady immediately asked, "What did the emperor say?"
Xu Lingyi smiled bitterly, "10,000 gold and silver paper ingots, 10,000 paper money, 31 banquets, 19 sheep, and nine bottles of wine. Relatives from the prince and below to the general, officials of the fourth rank and above, and women from the inner and outer ranks gathered at the sacrifice site to read the sacrificial text, offer wine, and perform the ceremony."
Everyone was shocked.
"Ten thousand gold and silver paper and thirty-one banquets," the Second Madam pondered, "Isn't that too much..."
Xu Lingyi nodded: "Not only me, but also the clan officials think it is too much. But the emperor's attitude is very firm, and no one can say anything more, so it is settled like this."
The second lady glanced at Xu Lingyi.
Xu Lingyi nodded slightly.
The two of them didn't speak again.
The lady also fell into deep thought.
Eleventh Lady winked at Zhen Jie'er, and the two of them quietly retreated.
I met Zhun Ge, who came in with a rosy face, chatting and laughing with Xiao Shao, the maid from the lady's room.
Seeing Shiyi Niang and Zhen Jie'er, he shouted, "Mother, I kicked eleven today, three more than Xiao Shao."
Seeing that the maids surrounding him were holding a few shuttlecocks, Eleventh Lady knew that they were playing shuttlecock in the back room. Smiling, she walked up to him and touched his head: "You can already play eleven shuttlecocks, not bad, not bad!"
He raised his little face and smiled, somewhat proudly.
"Your father is talking to your grandmother inside, let's speak in a low voice." Eleventh Lady whispered to him.
Zhun Ge nodded immediately and said to Xiao Shao in a very small voice: "We will play again tomorrow."
Xiao Shao replied "yes" in a low voice, and followed the maids and wives who came in with Zhun Ge, all squatting down to pay their respects to Shiyi Niang. Just as they stood up, Xu Siqin, Xu Siyu and Xu Sijian came over.
Zhun Ge immediately whispered to them, "Daddy is talking to grandma in there, please speak softly."
The atmosphere at home has been tense these days, and the children all know it. After hearing what Zhun Ge said, they all showed some uneasiness in their eyes. They tiptoed forward to pay their respects to Shiyi Niang, but the voice of the lady came from the inner room: "Are Qin Ge, Yu Ge and the others here?"
"Yes!" Xu Siqin answered immediately and loudly.
"Come in!" the lady said, "your fourth uncle is here too!"
Xu Siqin and the other two straightened their clothes and went into the inner room.
Eleventh Lady also followed in, taking Zhun Ge and Zhen Jie'er with her.
The children bowed to their elders, and the Third Master and the Third Madam arrived.
They looked gloomy, unlike their usual smiling faces, with joy reflected between their brows.
The Third Master asked about the Fifth Prince's "First Sacrifice Ceremony" with concern. Xu Lingyi briefly explained it, and the couple couldn't help but click their tongues. The Third Madam even smiled and said, "Since the Emperor has given such a grace, he must be very kind to our Empress."
The old lady, Xu Lingyi and the second lady did not say anything, and there was no joy on their faces. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became heavy.
The Third Master winked at the Third Madam.
The third lady said awkwardly: "I, am I wrong?"
Eleventh Lady saw it and said, "I think so." She then asked the little maid beside her, "Go and see if the food is ready?"
The expressions of the three ladies relaxed slightly.
Everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when they saw this.
The little maidservant left in response, and the Fifth Master and Fifth Madam came over with smiles on their faces.
The lady laughed: "Why are you here too?"
The Fifth Master bowed to the Dowager Lady—the Dowager Lady had already exempted the Fifth Master from the ceremony.
"It's rare to be so leisurely, come here to have some fun."
As they were talking, a little maid came in and reported, "The mothers said that dinner can be served any time."
"Then let's serve the meal!" The lady-in-waiting said as she stood up. The second lady hurried forward to support her, and everyone gathered together and went to the east room.
After dinner, the lady did not keep anyone and asked everyone to go back and rest quickly: "It's the New Year again, and we have to attend the first and second sacrifices."
Xu Lingyi replied respectfully, "Yes," and everyone dispersed.
Back in the room, Xu Lingyi's face darkened. After washing up, they went to bed. He lay on his back, looked at the ceiling, sighed, and whispered, "Today, the Ministry of Rites came to discuss the Fifth Prince's affairs. The Emperor changed his usual gentleness and acted very stubborn... He even had a sense of "those who obey me will prosper, and those who disobey me will perish!"
Eleventh Lady was shocked when she heard this and sat up: "Those who obey me will prosper, and those who disobey me will perish?"
Xu Lingyi looked a little bewildered, and recalled: "Not entirely... it was just particularly abrupt. The ceremonial officer just said, 'Prince Li Tong has a few more gold and silver ingots,' and the emperor suddenly jumped up and threw an inkstone at him. If it weren't for Eunuch He blocking it, the ceremonial officer would have been covered in blood... I've known him for so long, but this is the first time I've seen him lose his temper like this... I saw that he was in a bad mood, so after the ceremonial officer left, I sat for a while and prepared to leave... But the emperor kept me alone... He didn't say anything, just sat in the warm room for a long time. He asked me to leave..."
Those who are involved are often confused, while those who are not involved can see things more clearly.
The emperor called the person over, but sat there in silence...
Eleventh Lady’s mind was racing.
He is the emperor, what can't he say?
They are the emperor and his subjects, and also the uncle and aunt... As emperor and his subjects, they can naturally say anything, but if they are the uncle and aunt, with the death of the fifth prince, such silence becomes understandable.
Eleventh Lady asked cautiously, "Didn't the Marquis take the initiative to say anything to the Emperor?"
"How can I not say anything! It's just a few insignificant greetings." Xu Lingyi smiled helplessly, a hint of self-mockery flashed in his eyes, "You also know Mr. Deng's attitude. He has been in the Hanlin Academy for more than 30 years, but he hasn't introduced any better professors to him. He seems to be in a hurry to distance himself from the matter. I'm afraid the more I say, the more mistakes I'll make!" At the end of his words, he was already disappointed.
What does it mean that Mr. Deng is in a hurry to distance himself from the issue?
Is the current situation so complicated that even Mr. Deng, the emperor's tutor, doesn't want to get involved? Or does Mr. Deng think that the emperor will "hide his good bow after the cunning rabbit dies" and not want to get too close to the Xu family? Or does he simply want to stay out of trouble now that he has the honor of being the emperor's tutor?
Eleventh Lady considered carefully and said, "My Lord, didn't you say that you would resign after the New Year? I think it would be better to resign now..."
She thought about the changes that had taken place in the Third Master and the Third Madam during this period of time.
Knowing that they would be sent out, the couple smiled all day long, and the Third Lady treated the housekeeping as a hot potato and tried her best to tell herself how to manage the household. In the final analysis, it was because of the longing for a new life that such a change occurred. If Xu Lingyi broke his promise, there must be reasons, but after the strong disappointment, it is impossible for the couple not to have a little resentment. Eleventh Lady doesn't force it to be the head of the family. In the current situation, she is more relaxed if she is not the head of the family. Besides, although the Third Lady is a little greedy, there will be no fish in clear water, and it will be the same no matter who sits in that position. Speaking of which, the Third Lady did a pretty good job. A lot of positions have been reduced, and the family expenses are also less than when Yuanniang was there...
Xu Lingyi smiled bitterly: "I do want to, but at this moment, I am afraid that the emperor will think that I am retreating to advance, which will create a rift."
Eleventh Lady heard this and said, "Mother said that when you were little, you often went to the palace to see the emperor, and the emperor treated the marquis like his own brother. You broke Prince Shun's head, but the emperor tried to cover it up."
Xu Lingyi's eyes darkened: "That was when I was a kid..."
Eleventh Lady said, "Even so, the affection we had when we were young is still there. Didn't you tell me about your childhood with the Empress the other day? The Emperor may not have forgotten it." Her voice was soothing and a little deep. In this quiet night, it was like a cup of mellow tea, with warmth that went straight to the heart. "Besides, you are the younger one, so what can't you say? Even if you are being stubborn or a scoundrel, you can still say the embarrassing words..."
Whether out of concern or taboo, the emperor must be very concerned about the Xu family, and family affairs may not be hidden from the emperor's eyes and ears. It is better to play the sympathy card and be frank with the emperor about family affairs in a tactful way. First, it can prevent the emperor from thinking that Xu Lingyi is playing a trick of retreating to advance; second, it can downplay the relationship between the monarch and the minister and emphasize the relationship between relatives; third, it can weaken the image of Xu Lingyi and even the image of the Xu family - men are measured by their achievements, and Xu Lingyi is undoubtedly a strong man in this regard. If such a strong man has unsolvable thorny problems and can only endure helplessly, I believe that the emperor will re-evaluate Xu Lingyi's ability and may even be happy to see the contradictions within the Xu family, which may make the third master's career smoother.
Xu Lingyi understood his wife's intention after a moment's thought.
He was silent for a long time.
After all, he is a son of an aristocratic family, and he is arrogant in his bones. If he is asked to quit the officialdom on the grounds of such a thing, I am afraid he will find it difficult to accept it for a while.
Eleventh Lady did not expect that she could change his mind with just a few words. She said softly, "Those who accomplish great things do not care about trivial matters. The merits and demerits of the ages will be judged by future generations. Besides, the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit..."
Xu Lingyi couldn't help but stare at his wife as he listened, and fell into deep thought.
* * * * * *
On the 11th, the first sacrifice ceremony was held at Sishan Gate. On the 12th, officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs held a "Yi Sacrifice Ceremony" for the fifth prince. The scene was also grand. Two thousand gold and silver paper ingots and paper money, five banquets, five sheep, and five wine bottles. On the 13th, the grand sacrifice ceremony was held, and the emperor personally attended. The ceremony was the same as the first sacrifice, only the nine wine bottles were changed to five wine bottles. At this time, the queen was ill. The emperor ordered the wife of the dowager and the wife of the Yongping Marquis to visit the palace.
The lady was worried and did not sleep all night. Early the next morning, she took Eleventh Lady to Kunning Palace with a tired look.
The atmosphere in Kunning Palace was solemn. The Empress Dowager had arrived to visit the patient before them. The Madame Dowager and Eleventh Lady had been waiting outside for more than two hours. It was almost noon when the Empress Dowager stood up to say goodbye.
The Queen Mother personally saw him out.
Eleventh Lady noticed that she had gorgeous makeup on, her eyes were sad, and her expression of fatigue could not be concealed, and her heart tightened.
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After seeing off the guests... I'm going to take it off too...~~~~(_